The Athletic has live coverage of Ravens vs Bengals on Thursday Night Football.
Baltimore Ravens second-year center Tyler Linderbaum smiled at the thought of playing in prime time on Thursday at M&T Bank Stadium, in the team’s all-black uniforms and against a division rival.
“All eyes are on us,” Linderbaum said Tuesday. “Ravens-Bengals.”
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The Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers, who play each other Sunday afternoon, will be among those watching the start of a Week 11 that could go a long way toward determining the winner of the AFC North, the NFL’s best and most competitive division.
The Ravens are currently leading it at 7-3, although they’ve now dropped consecutive games to AFC North foes to fall to 2-2 in the division. The Steelers and Browns are both 6-3, yet Pittsburgh is 2-0 in divisional games while Cleveland is 2-2. The Cincinnati Bengals, the AFC North champs the past two seasons, are 5-4 overall and 0-2 in the division.
The Ravens will take the field Thursday knowing that a loss to the Bengals will mean they won’t be in first place heading into Week 12. That, in itself, would be a jarring development when you consider Baltimore started divisional play with two road victories. And just 10 days ago, the Ravens were being widely touted as the best team in the NFL.
“Every game from here on out, for us, is a must-win,” said Ravens cornerback Brandon Stephens. “This is really a playoff game. That’s the way we’re looking at it. The division is tight right now, and all we can focus on is this game, this week and being 1-0.”
The Ravens have heard the talk this week that the Bengals are in a must-win scenario and will be the more desperate team Thursday night. Such talk is understandable. A Bengals loss would essentially leave them 3 1/2 games behind the Ravens, as Baltimore would have the head-to-head tiebreaker in its favor by virtue of a regular-season sweep.
Furthermore, an 0-3 AFC North record would put the Bengals in a deep hole for any of the tiebreak scenarios. A 5-5 overall record would leave Cincinnati with little margin of error in its path to the playoffs for a third straight year.
Baltimore’s motivation goes beyond delivering a bitter rival a potentially damaging blow. The Ravens are only a few days removed from allowing the Browns to erase a two-touchdown fourth-quarter deficit to beat them on their home field. Two home losses to divisional rivals in a five-day span would spur some legitimate questions about the potential of John Harbaugh’s team for the rest of the season. It would also be tough to overcome in the Ravens’ quest to win the AFC North.
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There’s also the matter of banking victories and regaining the moment from their recent four-game winning streak. The Ravens’ remaining schedule is arguably the toughest in the league. It includes matchups against two of the best teams in the AFC, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins; a West Coast road game against a talented Los Angeles Chargers squad that is in win-or-else mode; a Christmas night game against the NFC powerhouse San Francisco 49ers; and a regular-season finale against a Steelers team the Ravens have struggled mightily to beat in recent years.
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A loss in prime time Thursday would make Baltimore’s remaining schedule feel even more daunting.
“We approach it in the same way (as the Bengals),” said Ravens rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers. “It’s a must-win for us, too, if we want to stay ahead of the division. We’re probably as desperate as them.”
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During game weeks, we’ll look at some of the biggest storylines, key matchups and primary questions the Ravens face heading into their contest. Now for this week’s first-and-10:
1. Lamar Jackson has won seven of his eight career starts against the Bengals. He’s put up modest numbers through the air, completing 61.8 percent of his passes, throwing 12 touchdowns compared to four interceptions and logging a 93.9 quarterback rating. It’s his legs, though, that have really hurt the Bengals. He’s averaged 79.5 rushing yards in his eight starts against Cincinnati, and that’s despite one game in which he rushed just twice for 3 yards. Jackson has had more than 50 rushing yards in every other start against the Bengals.
The Ravens quarterback has had fewer than 10 rushing attempts in five of his past seven games and has had more than 50 rushing yards just twice since Week 3. Lou Anarumo’s defense has struggled to stop the run this year and has traditionally struggled to stop Jackson.
2. The Bengals have had an “explosive play” problem defensively. The Ravens have more explosive plays than any team in football. Cincinnati has allowed a league-leading 71 “explosive plays,” which means runs of 10-plus yards or passes of 20-plus yards. That includes surrendering eight such plays to the Houston Texans on Sunday. The Ravens have 74 “explosive plays.” Forty-three have come via the run and 31 through the air. Jackson has been off lately with his deep ball. Thursday could present some opportunities to get back on track.
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3. Harbaugh acknowledged that the Ravens erred in not getting undrafted rookie running back Keaton Mitchell involved in the second half against the Browns. He predicted that would change going forward. Mitchell had just one carry for 2 yards in the second half after gaining 64 and scoring a touchdown on three touches in the first half. There’s no way Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Todd Monken want to hear for a second straight week about how they ignored one of the team’s freshest and most explosive players. It would be surprising if Mitchell didn’t get a good number of touches against the Bengals.
4. Healthy again, Joe Burrow is a different quarterback than the one Baltimore saw in Week 2. But it seems unlikely that Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald’s game plan will change too much against Burrow. Macdonald took the reins of the Ravens defense in 2022, a season after Burrow tore apart Wink Martindale’s aggressive defense, totaling 941 passing yards and seven touchdowns in two games.
Macdonald’s plan has been to maintain two deep safeties to take away deep balls, mix up coverages and disguise looks, and use simulated pressures rather than relying on heavy blitzing. In four matchups with Macdonald calling the plays, the Ravens have blitzed Burrow on just 19 of 164 dropbacks. Macdonald has tested Burrow’s patience and forced him to lean on underneath passes. Burrow has averaged just under 216 passing yards and 6.0 yards per attempt in those four games, while throwing five touchdown passes, two interceptions and getting sacked nine times. The Ravens understand the Bengals are going to move the ball. Their priority is limiting the chunk plays. In the past four meetings, Burrow has only had five completions for over 20 yards.
5. The Ravens have shown they are OK with the Bengals running the ball, even if it means Joe Mixon facing a lighter box. Mixon has rarely hurt the Ravens too significantly, averaging just 3.6 yards a carry against them in 12 career regular-season meetings. As a team, the Bengals aren’t running the ball well. They rank dead last in rushing yards per game (74.8) and are tied for 28th in yards per carry (3.6). If there is an area where the Ravens’ defense has struggled, it’s in stopping the run. The Browns took advantage of it last week, and it will be interesting to see whether the Bengals make an honest attempt to establish their rushing attack.
6. As the old adage goes, the tape doesn’t lie. The Bengals have a smart coaching staff and have surely seen Ravens safety Marcus Williams’ limitations as a tackler as he tries to play through a torn left pectoral muscle. It certainly appeared the ball was finding Williams against Cleveland. Harbaugh stood by Williams Monday when asked whether the veteran safety has become a liability from a tackling standpoint. It didn’t seem like he was planning any changes with Williams’ usage. We’ll know for sure on Thursday.
7. Ja’Marr Chase, the Bengals star receiver, has been a tough cover for the Ravens. In his six meetings against Baltimore, he’s averaged 7.3 receptions and 96.2 receiving yards and scored three touchdowns. The Ravens, though, limited Chase to five catches for 31 yards in the first matchup this year. They did it by relying on a combination of Stephens, Ronald Darby and Rock Ya-Sin. The Ravens haven’t typically traveled with top receivers in recent years. Their top matchup corner, Marlon Humphrey, likely won’t play against the Bengals because of a calf strain. He also missed the first meeting this year. That means Chase will see a little of everyone in the Ravens’ secondary. Tee Higgins’ expected absence also means Chase will probably see quite a few double-teams.
8. Cincinnati has scored a touchdown on its last five game-opening drives, a franchise record. The last team to do that was the 2016 Atlanta Falcons. The first quarter has been the Bengals’ best, as they’ve held a 55-34 scoring advantage. Baltimore has allowed just one first-possession touchdown. The Ravens are outscoring teams 79-16 in the first quarter. For all the talk about Baltimore’s struggles finishing games, how it starts Thursday’s contest will be under the microscope, too.
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9. The Ravens will have until 4 p.m. ET Thursday to make moves that impact their game day roster. Like last week, there’s no obvious hole they have to patch. While left tackle Ronnie Stanley is expected to be sidelined, they still will have nine available offensive linemen, which is one more than they usually dress. With Humphrey likely to miss the game, the Ravens could just keep Jalyn Armour-Davis, who has been a healthy scratch for part of this year, active. One move they could make is using a practice squad elevation on inside linebacker Josh Ross to give them more depth at the position and another special teams body. Rookie Trenton Simpson is set to miss the game with a concussion.
10. Recent history is on Baltimore’s side. Since 2008, Harbaugh’s first season, the Ravens are 35-17 in prime time, the second-best record in the NFL during that span. That includes a league-best 19-3 mark at home in prime time. The Ravens are also 7-0 at home on “Thursday Night Football,” and 4-0 in those games against AFC North foes. The Bengals, meanwhile, have lost 14 consecutive prime-time road games in the regular season and playoffs.
Prediction
Bengals 26, Ravens 23
To their credit, the Ravens didn’t appear to dwell on the awful loss to Cleveland. They were loose during the practice week and seemed locked in on the Bengals and the opportunity at hand. If the Ravens are as good as people around the league seem to think, they’ll take care of business in front of what should be a raucous crowd. It’s just hard to ignore that the Bengals absolutely have to win this game, and it’s easier to trust them if the game is tight in the fourth quarter. It probably will be, too.
(Top photo of Lamar Jackson: Katie Stratman / USA Today)
